Recently, the development of electric vehicles using motors as an alternative power source to engines has been conducted actively. In such electric vehicles, the motors are used to drive wheels.
Technologies relating to the electric vehicles are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2007-022276 (PTL 1), 2009-286303 (PTL 2), and Japanese Patent Publication No. 3584106 (PTL 3).
PTL 1 discloses a motor mount developed for the purpose of improving responsiveness in turning control. Specifically, in an electric-powered vehicle, the motor mount performs property change processing to harden a property-variable elastic body of drive motors in synchronization with turning control executed by which the drive motors capable of rotating to drive wheels make a difference in driving torque between the left and right wheels. The motor mount includes suspension members and sub-frames.
PTL 2 discloses a body structure of an electric vehicle in which left and right motors, which are used in a pair, are arranged so that their axes of rotation are oriented roughly in a width direction of the vehicle and roughly aligned with each other. The body structure includes a cradle frame that supports the motors integrally so as to maintain the relative position relationship between the motors, and a sub-frame that functions as a body-side attachment for suspension arms and the like used to support left and right rear wheels and is attached to a bottom part of the vehicle body.
According to PTL 3, a drive for an electric vehicle includes drive units respectively provided to running wheels serving as driving wheels and simultaneously controls the respective drive units to change speed based on one of rotation signals from a rotational speed sensor.